Adjustable dress for growing girls



June 1, 1948. A oP s 2 ,442,494

ADJUSTABLE DRESS FOR GROWING GIRLS Filed April 22, 1947 ATTOEA/EK?Patented June 1, 1948 NHTED STATES ATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE DRESS FORGROWING GIRLS Alice B. Hopkins, Columbia, S. 0.

Application April 22, 1947, Serial No. 743,157

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-75) This invention relates to childrens dresses, andparticularly for girls within the fast growing age range.

The general object of the invention is to provide a dress which isadjustable so that it can be made to fit a girl equally well throughouta period of growth that extends over several size ranges.

More specific objects of the invention will appear as the followingdescription of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part Of the specification,and throughout the several figures of which the same referencecharacters have been employed to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a front view in perspective of a dress, embodying theprinciples of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front view also in perspective showing thewaistband turned aside to disclose the fastening means.

The basic invention is applicable to all styles of small girls dresses,of the type which include a full straight front portion depending from ayoke, the neckline, or from the shoulders. Such dresses generallyfeature gathering, smocking, shirring, with braid, or some similar meansfor restraining the fullness at the line from which it emanates.

In conventional garments of this type there is usually a banddelineating a waistline for restraining the fullness at an intermediatezone in the length of the dress, complementary to the band at the yoke,neckline or shoulders, and similar thereto in construction andappearance, being worked upon or stitched to the dress so as to form anintegral part thereof. customarily there are half sashes stitched intothe side seams, adapted to be tied at the back to complete thedelineated waistline. Thus as the child grows the waistline delineationrises, emphasizing the outgrown condition Of the dress. It is impossibleto make any compensating adjustment of the Waistband without anextensive dressmaking operation, so that the dress is generallydiscarded.

A dress embodying the principles of the present invention does notcontemplate any departure from the conventional construction withrespect to the neckline, yoke or shoulders, for the breadth of theshoulders or chest does not increase appreciably throughout the range oftwo or three dress sizes, while the height of the child may in the sametime increase several inches. Therefore, it becomes necessary only toprovide 2 adjustment, longitudinally of the dress, of the Waistband.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the numeral 1 represents adress, the upper portion of which may be of any conventionalconstruction. By way of example, a dress is shown having a straight yoke2, the bottom of the yoke being delineated by a straight transverse line3. Beginning at this line and extending to the bottom of the dress, thefront of the dress is full. Just beneath the line 3. the dress is formedwith a transverse band 4 of smocking, worked upon the dress, which asidefrom its decorative attributes, performs the function of restraining thefullness of the material throughout the area overlain by the band. Otherforms of band may be the full equivalent of the one shown, the nature ofthe decorative motif being immaterial, the essential function being thatof setting the gathers or otherwise restraining the fullness. Inperforming this function, the band 4 becomes essentially an integralpart of the dress.

In the region approximatin the natural waistline, the dress is providedwith a detachable waistband 5, complementary to the band 4, extendingtransversely across the full front, and anchored at its opposite ends atspaced points 6 on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of thedress, which points embrace between them the fullness of the dressfront, so that when said points are tethered by said waistband, thefullness between them is restrained.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention the anchoring meanscomprise snap fasteners, one element 7 of which is fixed to the dress ateach of the points 6, the other elements 8 being carried by thewaistband. In order to obtain longitudinal adjustment of the waistband5, the fastener elements 8 are duplicated at each end of the Waistband,one being secured near the top edge and the other near the bottom edge,so that by snapping either the upper or lower elements 8 upon theelements 1, the waistband may be shifted longitudinally of the dress adistance substantially equal to its own width. When the dress is firstworn, the waistband will be secured in its high position. When the dressappears outgrown, the waistband is shifted and secured in its lowposition. The specific fastening means shown is illustrative of a widerange of equivalents which may be employed within the scope of theinvention.

If half sashes are employed to complete the delineation of thewaistline, these should of course, be in circumferential alignment withthe appearance of a good fit or of being outgrown isv not determined byobserving whether the waistband of the dress coincides with the natural;

waistline of the child, this being particularly true in a full dresswhich obscures the figure of the child. The criterion for appraising thefit of 'a' dress is the proportionate distance from the beginning of thefullness to the waistline delineation on the dress, relative to child.

As has been stated, the fullness may begin in the neckline, shoulders orbottom of the yoke, accordingto the style of the dress. In the eX-ample,..as disclosed, the fullness begins at the bottom of the yoke. Thebeginning of the fullness is indicated by the fixed band 4. In theconventional dress in which the waistband is fixed, the distance betweenthe two bands is constant. Therefore, as the child grows, the distancebetweenthe bands becomes disproportionately short relative-to the heightof the child. In the'present invention, as the child grows the waistbandis loweredby means of the adjustment provided, increasing the distancebetween the two bands, preserving the ratio between said distance andthe height of the child. The band 4 therefore becomes an essentialfeature of the invention incombination with the adjustable waistband,serving-as a datum from which to evaluate the spacing of the bandsincomparing this spacing with the height of the child.

In the preferred form of the invention, to assist this evaluation, thetwo bands should be equally visually prominent, and the decorativemotifs of each preferably substantially similar.

As an incidental requirement, the dress of. the present invention has adeep hem l0, at the bottom, which can be let out to lengthen the dressas the child grows.

While I have in-the above description dis-closed what I believe to be apractical. embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by thosethe height of the- 4 skilled in the art that the details of constructionand arrangement of parts, as shown, are by way of example and not to beconstrued as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Childs dress capable of being altered as the child grows bylengthening the skirt, said dress having an upper body portion and alower skirt portion continuous therewith, having a hem, said bodyportion being provided with a neck opening, an upper band across theskirt of said upper portion below the neck opening, a comple- ,mentarylower band detachably secured to the dress across the front delineatingthe top of said skirt portion, longitudinally spaced from said upperhand and adjustable longitudinally of the dress for varying the distancebetween said bands, said bands and the intervening portion of said dressdefining a zone of which said bands form the upper and lower borders,adjustable in width proportionately to the length of the skirt. I

2. Child's dress capable of being altered as the child grows bylengthening the skirt, said dress having an upper body portion and alower skirt portion continuous therewith, having a hem, the front ofsaid dress being full, said body portion being provided with a neckopening, an upper band across the front of said upper portion below theneck opening, a complementary lower band detachably secured to the dressin fullness restraining relation thereto, delineating the top of saidskirt portion of the dress, longitudinally spaced from said upper bandand adjustable longitudinally of the dress for varying the distancebetween said bands, saidbands and the intervening full portion of thedress defining a. zone of which said bands form the upper and lowerborders, adjustable in width proportionately of the length of the skirt.

ALICEB. HOPKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Porter May 17, 1938 Mele Aug, 16, 1938Baeder Dec. 1, 1942 Lyttle July 27, 1943 Pearl Oct. 5, 1943 Number

